 Well, hello beautiful Welcome to dare to dream. This is Debbie dashing or a pleasure to be here with you today and Have an awesome show for you super excited because I fell madly in love with this ferocious lioness of a woman and So I'm gonna be bringing you someone who's very fierce someone who's a survivor and someone who's completely Recreated herself and where she started was pretty auspicious to begin with so we'll bring dr. Sheri on in a little bit and Thanks for joining. Thanks for putting me on the map. I have to say I've been doing the show it'll be 13 years in June and This show has been nominated for two people's choice podcast awards for a webby award And it's available on over 40 syndicated outlets Go to all the podcast sites where you like to go and you'll get to listen to dare to dream with Debbie dashing her And if you love seeing what we look like and a lot of people really enjoy that go to YouTube comm slash Debbie dashing her subscribe Leave a five star review or an Apple podcast leave a five star review because people who really want and need to hear this Conversation can join in. This is a weekly number one transformation Conversation and the show is rated right now I like to keep you up to date on the latest rankings number 100 and self-improvement on all of Apple podcasts in the USA number 32 in Portugal number 67 in Canada number 99 in Malaysia number 27 in Vietnam I just love that people all over the world are listening and interacting with the show and loving the message and I love you right back so I am a certified coach and Besides doing this and all the things I do such as writing books and disseminating out into the world I'm also a coach for those things. I help people to write a page turner book I run a company that takes an author's book fully done for them to a guaranteed international best-selling status and I teach the ultimate visibility formula how you can be interviewed on radio and podcasts and get crazy awesome results So this is about filling workshops selling books Getting exposure and so much exposure that it actually repurposes itself and works on your behalf I think media is an awesome thing use it And if you'd like to join any of my programs go to Debbie dash shinger dot-com and you can also write to me there I want to thank dr. Dane here for sponsoring this show and if you are interested in any kind of energy shift and healing or even becoming a facilitator you can go to worldwide dr. Dane here da i n h e e r dot-com or Access consciousness calm classes products all over the world coming to a country near you hopefully soon And right now they're doing a ton of beautiful free gifting online. So you can access them there as well So as I promised you dr. Cherie is here She's a visionary a best-selling author and a sought-after physician leader Cherie is a board certified Occupational and environmental medicine physician public health expert and a breast cancer survivor after breast cancer treatment Cherie was left disabled from lymphedema in her right upper extremity stripping her of her lifelong dream of being a Practicing physician. She reinvented herself and she went on to become a national public figure a Professional speaker and she's now a certified virtual speaker, which is awesome talk about being with the Times She's an entrepreneur an owner of her own health care consulting business Cherie has been the catalyst for Transformation in the space of cultural and workplace diversity for more than two decades She launched her own TV show called the live today on Can TV channel 21 as well as her podcast Where medicine meets ministry dr. Cherie talks faith and facts You can learn more by visiting her website at Dr. Cherie md.com. That's dr sh e r i md Dot com and I welcome Cherie to the dare-to-dream show. It is so great to be with you Oh Debbie, this is indeed a true honor I mean you and I it's something about your spirit that just looking at you before I even got within a few feet of you Just looking at you and that smile and what bounces out of your eyes just drew me to you And once we came I think within two feet of each other I'm like, okay This woman is never gonna be able to get rid of me in her entire life So she might as well just get used to having me around Guys all the same come on the room of 200 people. You were such a standout, right? There's light and so, you know, I really love your story just based on your bio I can tell it's been a profound journey and to feel the light in you today Feels really meaningful that you're able to come through all that So let's start with what you do today so people can understand that then we'll backtrack and bounce around Okay Well today, I actually spend most of my time as a International professional speaker. I am a certified speaking professional Which is the highest designation awarded by the NSA the National Speakers Association It's the highest designation that they award to anyone in the world They're only about less than 600 of us in the world and so now I share my voice I share my story. I share my experience in ways that allow individuals as well as Organizations to move past and shift through change to shift through tragedy to shift through Changes and processes or or something that was Unexpected and I was able to do this not only because of my educational Background from you know starting off at Northwestern and Loyola and med school and what have you but also throughout my life lessons and how being flipped upside down and Being turned around and being on the opposite side of the table instead of being the doctor giving the diagnosis Now being in the patient shoes Totally shift my perspective and it's caused me to rethink and reinvent myself and share a different legacy Than the one that I had initially set out on a few decades ago That really so I find myself. Yeah, go ahead. Well that what what a way To express that I never would have thought about that But of course to be on one side of the table as a doctor And then have the experience of cancer and whatever else ensued And suddenly you are on the other side and because of it, you know You're such a perfect example of the wound becomes the gift out to the world when you get through your mess to the other side so Okay How did you pivot? Let's start there like Cancer changes everything you do. I Imagine it's a long road because nobody just makes You know, it's well, you know, it's gonna be fine. I'm gonna head this way I mean, it's a journey for each of us. Yes How did you make that pivot and really show up for yourself as a resource? To keeping resilient and marching forward and making new and positive changes Wow, I really do need to hire you as my p-barret person That's exactly how I brought myself through but I don't necessarily know if I would have put it in such poetic terms but for me what really allowed me to make that shift was faith as a very vital part of who I am okay, and My parents didn't raise I tell people my pay my parents did not raise a punk And so there have been times coming from a very, you know Born and raised on the south side of Chicago for children to parents working in the home struggling Keeping a roof over our heads keeping us fed. I learned how to Have things look good and people never really understand the struggle that it took For you to look as well as you do and so my parents taught me this knack of Getting down and doing the nitty-gritty doing the hard work doing the work But never really necessarily allowing the world to see how much of a struggle it was for you Because one of the things that they impressed upon me is that my life should always be an example Now it doesn't mean that you don't cry. It doesn't mean that you don't have your moments It doesn't mean that you don't share when you are anxious or when you're depressed or when you're scared That wasn't something that they told me to shun away from but there is a time for your moments Have your moments grieve grieve the cancer grieve the loss of half your right breast Grieve going through a divorce in the process grieve having your mother die where you're going through 15 rounds of chemotherapy You know grieve the 33 treatments of radiation grieve the the onset of lymphedema But in your grieving and grieve properly in your grieving Keep it moving in your grieving search for a new vision because your life has changed and so therefore You need to learn something there is a lesson to be learned not only for you But a lesson to be learned from the people who are watching the example that you are setting for them Learn that lesson share that lesson and then grow through it and come out on the other side With something significant to share and something significant to continue your growth Because for me, I'll never stop growing Until I'm six feet under there is never too much for me to know or learn or Appreciate until my time here is over. So I had to step back and realize and accept. Oh my god I'm not giving this diagnosis. I'm on the other end of this phone call Where my breast surgeon is telling me that my pathology came back? positive for Cancer and that I was going to have a long journey and although I prepared myself for that journey I prepared my children for that journey. I prepared my parents my mother who was in end stages of her life I prepared her for the journey Preparing for the journey and going through the journey different two different things. You never know till you know You can't exactly in it. Yeah, correct. Holy God when you say faith and that you have this Capacity to keep looking for something deeper. I don't believe the deeper comes up right away clearly, right? You know because no there was a lot of Pissed-offness and why me and it had to be a big soup of things But how do you find the faith because that's not easy? Through no of those things you said no less Concurrently all those things at once. I mean that would knock a human Flat like maybe give up the will to live. So how did you find faith or how did faith find you? Good question. I Because I had a certain Measure of faith and had exemplified a certain measure of faith prior to that moment That really Helped secure me and give me that boost that I needed to get through it and I say that To preface the next thing I'm going to say and that is while I was going through chemo My ex-husband and I It was his weekend with the kids and I'll never forget it was right before my Third round of chemo. I'm home alone. I'm having crushing chest pain like an elephant is sitting on my chest I know what this is. I'm a doctor. This is a heart attack happening. I don't know how severe I don't know how bad but based upon my inability to breathe and how bad this pain is This is bad, but Debbie in that moment. I was done was done. I didn't call 911 I managed to drag myself up a flight of stairs pull out my life insurance policy Set it on my desk where I work so that when my ex brought my kids home for the weekend They would go up to the office see the life insurance policy and find me in my bed there Oh, I promise you I was done. My mom was dying. I had 12 more rounds of chemo. I'm bald I'm just I'm done. And so I just said, you know what God? I'm gonna make this real easy on you We'll pull this out kids to be straight. It was a nice ass policy, too And then I climbed in bed in some kind of way. I was able to fall asleep I went to sleep a few hours later. I woke up girl. You're talking about somebody pissed. I'm like, okay, God I made this real easy for you and I'm still here The one to do what more do I have to do? But the fact that I woke up knowing just how bad things were I Was subsequently rushed at hospital because look at what happened Normally my ex would have stayed gone until Sunday evening when it was time to bring the kids back home for the weekend They made a stop before they went to church because my oldest daughter wanted to change her skirt made a stop He came in and saw ashen blue lips could barely breathe Called my oncologist rushed me to the hospital I was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that I never even knew that I was born with but the chemotherapy Brought it out because it constricted my blood vessels to the point where it was giving me up over a 90% blockage in my right coronary artery Heart attack waiting to happen And so when I so I shared that to say an individual can have weak moments I don't want individuals to necessarily hear my story or see me and say oh, she's strong She could get through anything. I'm not like her. I'm different No, we're not we share a whole lot the same sherry had her weak moments But God said it wasn't my time to go and when I came through that I really that that's what started that Pumped up that faith walk. Okay, so I've gotten through this there obviously is something left undone in my life So I'm gonna have to push past this to figure out what that is So God, I need you to show me what that is and the more that I went through my treatment I kept hearing the word live and in my mind. I'm thinking well Yeah, I did because I woke up when I tried to die. So I'm living. What's the deal? But then the distinction between living and existing came up Wired to that moment Debbie. I had been existing blessing patients their families I mean doing non-profit work serving on boards. I'm doing it all blessing family members financially But I was existing from that moment on I knew that I would live but live had a very different meaning Live for me since then now means Love myself and others Inspire those around me Voice my dreams and ambitions don't keep quiet about it let it out and to enjoy life And so now my faith has built me up to the place what I now insist upon every day living and helping and grabbing as many people in my circle to live as well and to help individuals who seem stuck and Trapped by tragedy or transformations that occurred that they weren't expecting that came from out of left field I help individuals figure out for them What does living mean for you? Sometimes it's just concentrating on one letter at a time today. I'm just gonna love myself and others. I love it Okay, so this is ministry right here So I just want to reiterate what Cherise said was when she decided No more existing if God brought me this far literally from the brink of death store and Facilitated me to fall asleep long enough for my kids and ex to find me to get me to the hospital Even though I got all this something something still ahead of me. I'm gonna live and her acronym is about love Inspire voice and enjoy that's beautiful for a new vision and a path and I want to go back to Cherie you brought up your mother and becoming a caretaker and I'm really sensitive to that my mother has Alzheimer's and I Spent the end of last fall into the winter and beginning of this year. I Don't know about the word caretaker, but I was it tag on it on the West Coast only one here and I will say that There was a lot leading up to The three months that my life kind of stopped. I couldn't do my classes. I couldn't teach. I couldn't coach. I was having to do my mom's life and it was Huge in order to take over someone's life to eventually finally get into her into a very nice facility It is soul killing. It is one of the most difficult things and I'm still coming out of it I'm not sure I don't know that it creates PTSD because nobody prepares you for it There's no like literature here do this this and listen. You'll be fine And every time I get out there and speak to the few people people who don't go through it have no clue Like none. They're so one of what like what's the big deal, you know, and if you try to bring up just do it, right? And people have been through it are so Compassionate and empathetic so I just want to talk to you about that because I was doing it as a healthy individual I'll be at it sort of wrecked my business for a while but to do it going through enormous health challenges Exhausting health challenges such as you were how in the world How in the world were you the caretaker? Were there other people in your family helping out or were you it or I? Don't even I want to know Good question. You know my mom she died of the condition called sarcoidosis Anybody that knows Bernie Mac? That's the same condition. He died of her lungs was primarily the organ system that had failed on her And so for the last three years of her life, she really was It was just palliative care We had went through everything to figure out whether or not she could be a bilateral lung transplant We tried everything and I was she made me the executor of her estate I am the baby of four children and there is a Seven nine and ten year difference between I and my siblings so there's a decent enough gap but I'm also the only doctor and So my mom made me the executor and so for the summer of 2007 was when we began her Prearrangements for her funeral. I was not diagnosed at that time But I was the only individual willing to do pre arrangements with her Because it was too depressing for everyone else. My mom would always say once we knew that she was not a Candidate for transplantation and that we were just going to give her the best care and support as possible Until she transitioned my mom would always say I am Planning to live but preparing to die Love that it is that has stuck with me and so with all intent and purposes I'm planning to live but I'm preparing I'm getting my house in order to die And so I help with the pre-arranges when I say pre-arrangements I mean picking out caskets casket cascades the flowers The the collage because she wanted to close casket I mean all of these things that brought her so much joy because she's thinking this will be something that the family Doesn't have to do I'm gonna make it easy for them I'm going home mind you with two children recently separated I go in my closet close the door so my kids won't hear me and I ball my eyes out because I'm just like Oh my god, I know this is bringing her joy, but this is taking me closer and closer to saying goodbye Fast forward to the summer of 2008 She's now I'm doing things when I'm bringing her to my house and bringing her oxygen concentrators to my house to give her a different Place so that she's not stuck at home behind these four walls because now she can't work So I make a spy experience for her in my home But I'm exhausted Debbie that summer I'm exhausted. I'm going to work. I'm 12 hours at work I come home. I make sure she has her spot time. I'm with my two daughters I'm doing homework and I don't have an appetite, but I'm just going going going. I'm losing weight I don't have an appetite. I'm tired, but I'm taking care of my mom October 1st 2008 as she's being transferred to inpatient hospice What would be for the last time I happened to be doing myself breast exam and that's when I find the mass And so I had been helping my mom for like over a year now with all of this and then now that I'm putting her in inpatient hospice to Get her medications and stuff together now I find this mass and in my head in that moment I'm literally thinking Okay, God, I was I was getting ready and I was all prepared and I've been doing this I've been doing the pre-arrangements. I've been doing all of this Surely I am not about to be diagnosed with cancer. This cannot be happening But the moment that I felt the mass I knew that it was cancer. I'm not a pessimistic person But you know your body and that's why I tell people know you're normal and I knew that it wasn't and so now I can honestly say that between October 1st and probably January which is when the time when I had the severe chest pain. I think I was in Some kind of la-la land I was doing what I needed to do go to work take care of the kids Give my testing do the biopsy I tried to hide it from my mom until I had the diagnosis until one day I showed up after my diagnostic diagnostic mammogram with my hospital band on and she said Well, why are you in a hospital band? I was like, oh, I just had to go in for some tests I'm not just forgot to take it off and I remember when I finally had to tell her the diagnosis My mom said to me and she's still an inpatient hospice now I've been asking God and she would every holiday. She would say I Don't know why God still has me here But I love you all but when I gave her the diagnosis she said to me Now I know why God still had me here. I Can't help you But no baby Should have to get that diagnosis without her mommy brought perspective One it forced me to now take advantage of all of these moments It now forced me to look back on those pre-arrangements And those times when I would go back in my closet and I would cry And I see that's what people missed out on those are now my memories and God knew God knew I was going to need those because She died while I was still in the midst of so much treatment But I had now formulated and held on to so many precious moments with her In her last days that it fortified me it gave me this push even to this day I still do things that I know would make my mom proud I never If I'm doing something that I feel like Mama would not like that. I'm 52 years old But it's something about that connection that we had No matter where she is God no matter what she's able to see or what have you I want her to be proud of the legacy that now lives through me because of her guidance So it was extremely difficult, but I was on go-go mode debbie I just pressed through it when she died. I was there at the bedside I was not even supposed to be outside It was my first day of not being able to get chemo because my white blood cell count was low Doctor told me don't leave the house get your nupagent stay in the house show up tomorrow We'll try chemo then but when I came home from chemo something told me to call the hospice nurse When I got on the phone with her she was like Mom's vitals are my good shirishi. She's not going to make it through the night But you said you're goodbyes You take care of you. I got her and I told her linda. I am so sorry dear But I will be there. I put on my mask. I grabbed my grandmother. I grabbed my aunt And I grabbed the cousin and I said guys, you got to get me out there. Mom is not going to make it I managed to make it out there at 8 28 I personally pronounced my mom at 8 48 I had 20 minutes to get there say my goodbyes let her mom say her goodbyes my dad say his goodbyes But can you imagine being the doctor? To pronounce your own parent as deceased The the the the Stories and the moments that have occurred throughout my transformation my renaissance my Reinvention of me are so real and so palpable. I think that's what I know that that's what allows me To penetrate into to penetrate the souls of individuals because where I'm coming from it's not something that I read in a book Something in a textbook or something that I heard Of lived it is real is real to me today as if it happened yesterday Yeah, you know Thank you. I just want to say thank you so much for sharing that. Um, it's helpful to me because It would be really hard to beat that story. Well, first of all That is It takes you Debbie A caregiver pissing contest, but I you know, I mean it's really inspiring to me. I know sherry My girl I just want to say like, you know, I'm going through a very interesting time And I feel this like it's different. I could cry right now. It's so powerful because um All I wanted when I came What felt like out the other side with my mom getting her in a facility finally and I want my life back And I want to start working again. Fuck it. I'm going to cry Um That it wasn't like easy street, you know instead My boyfriend of a year in three months Just who said he was on my team and all of this suddenly Started acting very strange for a while and heartbreaking and we broke up right before lockdown Not a great time to go through a breakup. I can promise you and whatever anybody thinks You would be out having fun distracting yourself going to workshops working. You would not totally For three months all alone. So there's that piece. I have Three best friends one moved out of country during lockdown one moved out of state and one lost her mind That's what i'm calling it because she completely extricated herself The loss the amount of loss for me during this has been substantial And I know it's a deeply Profound spiritual time and trust me. I'm I'm in it. I'm not running. I'm Dealing I'm healing and it's a roller coaster. I don't know some one day to another Is this going to be grief? Is this going to be strength? Is this going to be I'm just in it and um And I so Wanted with my mom like wrapped in a bow She's there now we can go back Well, you know and life is going to pick back up and life had different plans for me So when I hear you at that level, which is like way so much more than what I'm talking about But still this is my soul journey Because I'm facing core wound stuff, you know that I thought god knows as a healer and someone has been involved in so much healing. I was like, oh, you know This is done. I faced abandonment. I faced neglect. I've faced rejection. I faced loneliness. Oh, said god, you know, like For you to take a look at and really walk through So I'm deeply moved by what you said and How you are able to Navigate and I think you might agree with me when I say this Like a year from now From your situation five years ten years you can look back and go damn Like how did I get through that? That should have killed me But when you're in it, absolutely, all you know is the next the next take the next breath the next step Yes Totally you are totally right and and I had to When I was in it. I remember individuals telling me One right after After my mom died it was really interesting because When she died at the moment that I was there and I know that it's happening. I'm a physician I I know the types of breathing The shine stokes. I mean, I know that this is happening in my brain. I'm rapping God not now that really but she can't stay like this. I mean, I know she needs to be but no So when but when it happened and now I'm going through planning the home goings, you know celebration and all of that Debbie I had anticipated that there was going to be a pouring in Of support and that I wasn't going to have to do anything and that even though I was the executor You know people were going to say, you know, I know that mom or Or ain't he wanted this but I got this now girl because you sick and I got this and I got that's not what happened People still showed up my house and said, okay. So what what do we do? Um, okay. Well, we need to do x y and z. Okay, we get that going. So You have any food? You know how people when I used to watch movies and people would bring the when there was death in the family They would bring food, but they didn't bring me any food. I'm thinking I have two kids that need to eat I'm going through chemo. I can't eat anything. But at least for you that I had not only that I not have food But people came to my house. We work on the program I'm in the midst of chemo and you're asking me if I have food. It was just I felt like I was in Light zone But getting through that as I'm going through that people are telling me Sherry I know you're going through but you know your mom is in a better place And you know, you just got to do what you got to do. I know that they were being trying to be kind Yes, my mom is in a better place, but I'm here without my mom So don't dismiss my pain or don't think that just making that statement makes my pain go away Rather, maybe open up your arms and say girl. Come here. Put it right here Put it right here go as long as you need to go. I'm right here Don't tell me when I do cry. Oh, keep it together now. Keep it together. Don't cry. Don't cry How the lunacy that I went through at that time Caused me to actually write my own book And I wrote it so that other people could learn It wasn't so much to expose The individuals in my life, but I knew that my story was not unique that there are other People that are experiencing the same thing, but they don't know how to approach it They don't know if they should be okay with it But I actually allowed a very close member to at the at my mom's death bed After she is now died I'm asking them. Give me four minutes. Tell me when four minutes has passed so I can pronounce her And then I begin to lose it, but everything is coming to me. I didn't get chemo Now I'm just going to lengthen the time that I have to go through chemo Will I be able to get chemo again if they decrease the the chemo dose will the cancer come back? I mean, I'm running and then now my mom is dying And so all of the emotion comes out and while I'm crying they tap me on the back and say, okay, should we keep it together? Keep it together And I did I was dumb enough I went to stop crying and then I kept it together There's no way that I should have kept it together So I tell everybody have your moment and if somebody trying to take your moment from you You need to walk away So Debbie you are entitled to have this moment going through what you went through with your mom and even putting her in the best place Your relationship now with your mom is very different It's very different and you know and I know you've done the research The progression is going to cause that relationship to continue to evolve and change And you're going to have more realization of it than she will and as a result that's painful So you need individuals in your corner just like When yo the person who lost out he lost out he walked out on a blessing and um boom Boy back is what I was saying He missed out. Okay. He missed out. He walked out. But at the same time I was going through divorce and so I went through that whole Ordeal alone not without the significant other now my ex was present because he was there with the girls We co-parented we were friends. So that was helpful. But then there was that certain level of intimacy You know that you would share with someone that that was missing. You know what I'm saying And so as you go down this new path this new grieving path this Changes changes in your life that occur you really need to cause your thoughts to go back to those times when It may have not have been this bad But I've been in some pretty jacked up situations before and I've come through it That's where you need to take your thoughts back to it And you got to take yourself back to the times when you thought you weren't going to come through and you did The times when people may have said oh girl, this is not going to be successful. I don't know why you're starting a podcast What's our podcast? What exactly do you do and then 13 years later have a syndicated podcast So you have to take yourself back To those types of things to help build your faith because in that situation That you'll shake your faith gets shaken It's like oh, I can't see a light at the end of the tunnel and when you have people tell you Oh girl, you don't have you don't have 10 more chemo sessions girl. You don't have 10 more Do you know what that sounds like to a cancer patient 10 sounds like a hundred thousand You put the word only in front of it. Let me see how many chemo sessions have you been through? Oh, you say zero, but I only have 10 more So, you know, you You have to shift when people are saying crazy stuff to you. Sometimes you need to let them Appreciate just how cray-cray that sounds. But then in the process when they've left and you're in your quiet moments The thoughts they may pop into your head My mom just died. I'm going through the divorce. I gotta feed my kid Am I gonna ever be back normal again instead of those thoughts? They they they pop in your mind That's the way our brains are set But you can choose where you dwell And I had to force myself not to dwell On all of those negative thoughts that kept coming into my head I had to instead dwell on those times when god brought me through that Yep, he brought me through that too. Yep, my mama said this too shall pass Yep, my mama said she wanted to see jesus. Guess what my mama got she got what she wanted She isn't so, you know, I had to take myself there to build my faith Oh my god, where do you dwell? Where do you dwell? Well, we're gonna take a quick break Clearly, there's much more to discuss. We come back We'll talk a little bit about cultural and workplace diversity with dr. Cherie And I want to talk to you about this auspicious time I'm sure you've got your own story and your own message. Maybe a lifetime maybe right now Maybe connected to your work or your being but Stand for your greatness. So many people right now Are saying I've got all this creativity or maybe I'm bored or how do I chattel or how do I keep working? I'm here to take a stand for you. I developed a membership platform Literally for right now and people are signing on It's at debbie dashinger.com slash visible Visionaries for you to become visible and write your book. In fact, write a page turner book and take your idea from start to publish Voila and I will get you there with ease. I work with people all the time privately I work with them in groups, but this is the first time I'm doing an amazing membership Platform go to debbie dashinger.com slash Visible visionaries. Did you know that there are more people reading right now than ever before? Of course, what else are you going to do? So reading audibles ebooks Kindles and more be one of those books that people are reading So in six months from now you can say look what I did With that year with that time Let me show you how debbie dashinger.com d e b b i d a c h i n g e r dot com slash Visible visionaries get coached and take your book to publish So we're coming back with dr Sherry And I do want to talk about the transformation that you've had I find that fascinating cultural And workplace diversity you've been doing it for more than two decades So What have you seen in culture? Sherry, what have you seen also in workplace environments that caused you to say I need to become a facilitator for change here Well, I've seen In different organizations, so I serve on several different boards. I'm also A fellow and the number of different professional organizations And then also with working within the largest health care system in illinois what I would find is There would be um I wouldn't say an own slot or maybe I would That there was this uh HR would hire in a number of different individuals and and what I would see is that sometimes there were individuals that seem to all kind of go into One field like in in the hospital, you know, so the transports would all be you know kind of similar in ethnicity and cultural makeup and maybe You know physicians would be you know, it would be a large number of here and nurses may be Uh slightly different Uh and and what would happen is if you look at Break rooms and if you look at how they dealt with patients When you listen to the the patient's Journey throughout that organization It was very different based upon who they were dealing with So transport bringing one set of culture how they approach the patient what they said How they left the individual now you pass off to the nurse and then now she's giving her owned And then you get to the physician who may be more A mix between culture and Education and maybe Maybe not have the best bedside manner or maybe had a whole bunch of bedside manner But didn't really explain the whole medical process to the patient So I just saw that there was a disconnect And in the role that I had because I was the program medical director With the largest healthcare system and in linois won't say any names, but we could figure it out I figured you know what there is something that we need to do system-wide We have we can't control the patient population coming in But we can control the individuals within our organization that's going to give Patients and the individuals that walk through that door a more seamless approach Uh and almost like a blank slate In the sense that when they see the individual that is helping them They're not seeing color ethnicity Background or what have you we kind of have a uniform System of how we greet and how we deal with patients now what I would further in doing is hey But let's do some team building Around our different cultures Around our different ethnicities so that we can better appreciate where you're coming from when life is happening to you Before you come into these four walls Because life For someone of indian descent is going to be different than life for an individual of african-american descent What they eat in the morning how they deal with their children the expectations that they have just because culturally We've been taught and brought up differently And so I think it's it was important that if we're going to create a unified Front for our customers and our clients To best do that we need to understand where each other is coming from not passing judgment Not making any assumptions based off of a tv show or something that we saw in the movie But actually creating team building exercises. We're now like is that like Um, you know, there's a word thought storm. I don't know how much people understand that but where you Sit with other individuals And you just I it's like an idea fest, but everything's a contribution Nothing is terribly solid, but you have a theme And then you can really get to know people and usually something is born out of it Is that the kind of correct? Yeah contributions that you created That is exactly right. It is it was actually brainstorming around simple day to day processes And having individuals give their input and when you mapped it out, you realize that there was some overlaps Maybe slightly different, but when you delve a little bit deeper and say, well, why would you do that? You're you were typically able to take it back to something that was a learned behavior And a lot of their learned behavior came from their cultural and ethnic background and and bring the way that they were brought up And so I now turn that into a positive It's not a it's not a negative just realize the wealth of information that we have and what we can truly Bring and pull together with all of these different insights. I now had an insight For individuals that are of Indian descent and I've never stepped foot in India No, but again listening with An ear to truly hear and this is because that's huge. I really get that How do you implement things like that because in my estimation To sit around and have that level of conversation is very lofty and awesome But to actually take the pieces gleaned here's somebody from Chinese descent here's somebody from I don't know name. Let me name a country Ethiopian descent Um, etc. You know Malaysian descent and and Indian descent and you get these amazing pieces That actually were they to be used are going to create something So much more holistic For people who are coming for healing experience But how do you take that and actually implement it into the system? So it's successful Well, you start with smaller groups and you start with one piece of a process and so if you decide Hey Let's map out patient flow for an independent standalone facility Patient walks in and so you have someone that okay patient walks in about the guy So they have every single touch point You start with just that first touch point from when they walk in the door and they meet the Greet the receptionist you start off with well one I'll have my HR person do some kind of funny little team building Break the ice kind of deal But then I'd say the touch point that we want to work on today Is when that individual first walks in that door and greets the receptionist and they're there for a follow-up visit What what does that look like to you? And I will have them do role play And then the other individuals get to sit around and watch that role play Because when you're watching an individual and observing and this comes from my medical Training in medicine. We're taught to observe first before I ever ask you a question I'm watching the way you walk in the door how you sit down the way you turn your neck Because certain things I can diagnose simply by you walking in the door Yes, ma'am. Absolutely. Really simply by walking in the door like Parkinson's I could tell I can tell you now if an individual walked in I could tell you whether or not They had Parkinson's or not simply by the way they walk. I could diagnose Bell's palsy I can diagnose You know a stroke and I can pretty much kind of tell you whether or not this is more cute versus later simply by observing you And so by observing a person that comes in that walks in Let's say latina descent and they come in and and I tell them I want you to come in like you could be a real Potentia patient and so they may come in or like when stars I'm your daughter don't they it's time to me and they go on and now the receptionist now has to Role play well, what does that look like? She's you know born in the u.s. Carcassian So now we are now looking at this interaction now and now we can learn So see sometimes this is a young woman. She's in her 20s. We're expecting that she's going to come in Speak English. She did not so now. How do we approach that and really is taking one piece of the puzzle Viewing it from an observation standpoint Allowing a certain time period for brainstorming because like you said you could I could brain we could brainstorm for 12 hours Nope, we have a set period of brainstorming and we're all Got our flip charts out. We're writing them down. We're writing down issues And then we categorize them and see where is their overlap See where our circles over that and then where are things way out in left field Sometimes things out in left field turned out to be the things we need to try to bring into the center of the circle Because they were really important But you don't know that until you can actually see it and visualize it and then we put together And map out what that process should really look like that's going to give that true Global experience no matter who's walking through the door To feel comfortable with that one piece and when we have it then we move to the next piece You know, but it really is breaking it down. That's so beautiful. I love that you can create change at that level I mean anyone who walks into one of those hospitals will be the recipient of what you just did creating Something beautiful out of diversity And I think you'll appreciate this My brother is also a cancer survivor stage four squamous cell carcinoma. He had his own journey Wow He also came out the other side completely different, you know, he's a world-renowned composer award composer and When he came out the other side he and his wife made some conscious changes. He still does music and other things but The medical system was so jacked He couldn't believe he would go for treatments and sit in a waiting room with televisions blasting horrific news and gunshots and horror and he's like sitting there going Are you serious or i'm waiting for my blood test results and he was a mess so he literally Created a television for doctors waiting offices And gorgeous pictures come by With affirming statements his music beneath it. I mean When I first saw the inaugural tv set if you will which is just a regular tv set, but his software goes through it Right I was watching it as a sister to support a brother. I ended up like an hour later I was so in a trance in the most calm place And so it's doing well, you know, it's getting out there. They created a meditation app Called live calm with cancer and it's free, you know, you can get it on app stores and for caretakers and doctors and patients and all of that so For anybody interested, you know, you can go to david dashingers. It's pretty easy. My name d a c h i n g e r He and his wife have done and of course, I'll I'll send this to you if you like But I tell you because I think these pieces are very very important Uptakes When you're in the medical system It really is inside outside. It's who's working on you, but it's the whole experience as well So I love what you're saying that from the moment you walk in to a hospital Even you're talking the receptionist you are You're curated you're cared for somebody is there who sees you and can help you through the system in the best way So I just want to acknowledge you for all of that and for stepping up when you see something wrong So we have to we have to that was what drew me to medicine in the first place I wanted to be a doctor ever since I was two years old and I think what could yes I'd never thought about being anything else until the night before my m cat exams the admissions test and I thought What if I don't do well and what if I don't get in and in my in it five seconds I said, oh, I'll be a ceo of some some business or something and that was That was the only thought I ever had is that I would jump from either being a physician to a ceo That just tells you where my brain was that not starting low. I just go straight to ceo But anyway, I've always wanted to be a doctor. But what I think reinforced it was the way I Received and perceived health care while I was growing up You know as a poor Black family, you know, we went to the free clinics or whatever you can go to get your basic school physicals So when something was wrong, you went to the county hospital and you saw, you know Blood drippings all on the floor and people just take a number and just very it was just I just thought to myself When I become a physician I'm going to do something different because when people come to your office or people come to the hospital They're coming because they need help. We really this is really not health care We really in the process in the business of disease care only when you're dealing with preventive medicine Which is why I'm board certified in occupational and environmental medicine that gives me that preventive medicine side I'm trying to prevent Disease trying to keep you healthy mind, body, soul, spirit, all of that keep you healthy But when individuals come in they're coming in because they have a need The last thing they need is for you to be rude or for you not to be able to give them the proper directions on Where to go or for you not to be able to give them a kind touch on the elbow to help them through For you not to be able to help them fill out a form if they don't understand And for you not to leave and give them a smile on the way out the door And if somebody mentions, oh man, I'm so I'm so scared. Oh Oh, I'm just praying that god to help me. Hey, if you're faith-based and your patient says to me I can't tell you the number of times that a patient that said yeah, I'm praying I really hope god to heal me I will stop right there and say Do you want to have a word of prayer now? And it'll throw them away a doctor that's you gonna pray with me now doctor If you if you would like to join in prayer, let's have a word of prayer going a step beyond because people need help They need hope And if your physician can't give it to you somebody in a medical field can't give it to you. Oh my god when you're sick and ill You would just be left really feeling like well What is the point and I refuse to have anybody come in my presence and ever walk away thinking well, what's the point? Beautiful my gosh We're gonna take a quick break and then we'll wrap it up with dr. Cherie and if you are It's such a weird transition, isn't it? But i'm taking it anyway Take it honey take it Take it on the street. All right, and i'm going to folks If you don't want to write a whole book at debbie dashinger.com slash visible visionaries Instead you can write a chapter. I'm making this so simple I am putting together. I have put together a dog anthology. I love the title so much It's called the ultimate book for dog lovers, but it's spelled mutt ultimate dog book for dog lovers anyway debbie d.net slash anthology It's a huge package And if you would like to write a chapter you will be well guided through it if you don't want to write a chapter I will interview you and have it transcribed I'm taking it to a guaranteed international bestseller The authors will be interviewed on podcast You're going to have a global press release a book video trailer rankings marketing copy. I mean it's Beautiful because i've done this before for authors And we just all fall in love with the process and have such a great time If it's in your heart canines, you're a pet lover You've owned a dog Dogs You're in the service dog industry pet industry grooming industry training canine If you or a friend or loved one, you know is right for this send them to debbid.net Slash anthology there are only six chapters left. That's how many people have come aboard So if this speaks to you don't hesitate go there And that website has all the information as well as a free video for you so you can learn everything Even had a right So go to debbie d.net slash anthology and join us today. You'll be well held through the entire process And even learn while doing the compilation how to write a page turner. So if a book is next for you You've got it I'm coming back if you're joining us after we started this is debbie dashinger on dare to dream podcast I am speaking with dr. Cherie. She's a best-selling author and a physician. She's a public health expert certified speaking professional At a breast cancer survivor you can find out more about her at dr. sherrie Dot com Cherie, this is dare to dream here at the end What do you next dare to dream? What are your future dreams and goals? My future dreams and goals is one to continue to grow my new podcast where medicine meets ministry dr Cherie talks faith and facts. I am loving this venture. It has always it's been on my heart now for probably Wow more than Two decades. Oh my gosh. I'm getting older. You notice I said older not old older I want to hear your podcast. They can hear my podcast. I am on apple. I'm on google podcast. I am on um I heart radio spotify stitcher Just a brow probably any platform where you'd like to go and listen to your podcast You can find where medicine meets ministry dr. Cherie talks faith and facts and it really is a podcast that The title says it. I'm it's it's a title and it's a podcast where I'd like to interview individuals One such as yourself that have had these moments in their lives that Transform the way they view life Where they may have had a tragedy or pain, but they've turned it into their purpose To answer questions of people who say like they used to tell me when I was going through my diagnosis I have a whole chapter in my book entitled churchy chatter where people used to say to me I don't understand why you're still getting all of this chemo. You just need to pray We're just going to come together and we're going to pray and know what's going to heal you and I don't understand Well, you know what faith without works is dead. My faith says I'm going to get up go give my chemo And god's going to heal me. Thank you And so we have these discussions of of not only just You know Christianity. It's not about religion. It's not about You know, whether or not you believe in god It really is about your spirituality and what divine healing means to you whether or not it's a higher power or what have you We're looking for individuals that have a story of transition of the story of transformation that Cause them to change and and spin off in their life because of a unique event addiction or Suicidal thoughts or the loss of a relationship the loss of a parent. So I really want that to be hugely successful because I believe it really is an effort of love It is an effort to again leave a legacy and have Some some questions that I've had individuals to ask and bring up All my life just about to have them answered by Significant individuals with phd's md's Bachelor's associates no degrees at all sixth grade education It really does not matter, but your perspective and how you live life And what life means to you and what you plan on doing with it That's what I want to share with individuals across the world. I want to continue my international professional speaking I love speaking in case, you know, your audience has been able to tell um pretty difficult to shut me up love speaking and uh, I just want to continue to live and leave A legacy on how to live I have really become the queen of how to let go and live and I want to help as many individuals as I possibly can Help them to learn how to let go and live today and every day And then I want to stop having hot flashes My job, that's so beautiful woman Really you filled my heart today. I'm so grateful you came on the show We will be in touch I'm actually you already manifested me as your pr person because I had a download while you were just speaking and I'm going to connect you with a radio show That is christian base and they're going to love you and they're going to interview you so and so it begins And so thank you so much for coming on and sharing your Brilliance professionally and being wise on dare to dream. It is such an honor to be in your presence And it was an honor to be a guest on your show and to be in yours Thank you debbie so much much love To you to you as well And I end today show with this reminder If you want to achieve greatness Stop asking for permission As nike said just do it This is dare to dream you can subscribe to this podcast It is your weekly number one transformation conversation And next up on the show. I'm happy to say james redfield from the celestine prophecies Who's been here before Asked me if he could come back and do a series on the program So get ready all because james has been traveling the world talking about what's going on and what's to come And he wants to come to dare to dream to connect with you And do a series of four shows to talk about that very thing He'll be disseminating a lot of wisdom and guidance at a time when a lot of people really need it If you're ready to write your book and want live expert guidance These are covid prices. So I highly recommend you go now It will never be like this again, but it is today for you because i'm here to serve you I really am here to serve you so you can get your story and message out debbie dashinger.com Visible visionaries and if you'd like to write a chapter in the dog anthology book only six chapters left go today debbie d debbid dot net Slash anthology Thanks for joining us today and remember that the secret of success as always is having the courage to begin in the first place